Abstract
<jats:p>This chapter examines how Industry 4.0 technologies can be strategically repurposed beyond manufacturing to support human-centered, sustainable, and culturally embedded experiences in industrial-heritage tourism. While cyber-physical systems, artificial intelligence, and large-scale digitization have traditionally prioritized efficiency and automation, their potential to advance social, cultural, and environmental objectives remains underdeveloped. Building on recent scholarship in human-centered digitalization and the evolving paradigm of Industry 5.0, we propose the Human-Centered Heritage Experience Design Model – a conceptual framework that integrates augmented reality, virtual reality, mobile applications, and artificial intelligence-enhanced systems within heritage-driven industrial contexts. The model repositions technology as a facilitator of participatory engagement, digital storytelling, and stakeholder co-creation, emphasizing cultural authenticity, community agency, and socio-technical sustainability. Through illustrative application scenarios, we demonstrate how immersive technologies can enable inclusive learning, strengthen place-based identity, and reduce environmental impacts by minimizing reliance on physical infrastructure. At the same time, we address implementation challenges such as infrastructure disparities, digital ethics, institutional inertia, and cultural commodification. Ultimately, this work reframes Industry 4.0 tools as enablers of post-industrial regeneration, arguing that human-centered digitalization offers a viable pathway for aligning technological innovation with cultural preservation, community resilience, and the green transition in heritage tourism ecosystems.</jats:p>